PARIS, FRANCE and LOS ANGELES, CA – August 29, 2016 - Marking the first new series to be unveiled under his leadership, Nicolas Atlan, President of Animation for Gaumont, announced today that the company will be partnering with Jackie Tohn, Michael Scharf, Ivan Askwith, and the multi-talented Kristen Bell to produce an animated series that will take preschool viewers through a whimsical musical adventure of the quirkiest kind. This lyrical series, Do, Re & Mi (52x11’), which starts as an adventure and ends in a song, will feature original tracks performed by Kristen Bell (Princess Anna in the Disney Film Frozen), Jackie Tohn (Season 8 American Idol finalist) and other surprise guests. Do, Re& Mi will also extend into apps, games, music videos, and more.
“Music has been a huge part of my life for as long as I can remember. I hope this show will inspire a new generation of Kids and expose them to the benefits of music, which can be incredibly inspirational, encouraging and fun all at the same time,” commented Bell.
“What better way to jumpstart our new animation division than by joining with Kristen Bell and her creative, innovative partners Michael, Jackie and Ivan who brought Do, Re & Mi to our attention,” commented Atlan. “We believe Do, Re & Mi will connect kids to music in a fun, new way across all screens.”
Created by Jackie Tohn (playing Gilda Radner in Netflix’s upcoming film: A Futile and Stupid Gesture) and Michael Scharf (the highly respected artist on HBO/Cinemax’s Academy Award-winning animated short The Moon and The Son: An Imagined Conversation), Do, Re & Mi will also be executive produced by Ivan Askwith and Kristen Bell. Askwith, a digital wunderkind, brings to the project a wealth of digital savvy that will extend Do Re & Mi across screens with his experience on Reading Rainbow and the immensely successful crowdfunded Veronica Mars movie and Super Troopers 2. “ Bell’s superlative voice rings through Disney’s record-breaking Frozen, while also being a fan favorite from her work in Veronica Mars,House of Lies, Bad Moms and the upcoming The Good Place on NBC.
Do, Re & Mi is about Mi, a musical eighth note (the walking, talking, singing, and laughing kind), who begins every day with one mission… to find his song. This song isn’t a sheet of paper he forgot on the bus or a post-it he let slide under the couch. This song is his inspiration, his love, and his reason for being. With his two best friends, Do, a nerdy electronic tablet with access to a world of knowledge, and Re, a keyboard who is a bit like a loving big sister who can’t stop bossing everyone around, he finds a different inspiration and song in every episode.
ABOUT GAUMONT
Formed in 1895, Gaumont is the first and oldest film company in the world. In the past few years, the company’s release schedule has continued to increase across film and television production, financing, and releasing in both French and English. The film library now encompasses over 1100 titles including films from such prestigious directors as: Luc Besson, Matthieu Kassovitz, Francis Veber, Jean-Jacques Beineix, Federico Fellini, Maurice Pialat and Jean-Luc Godard. In 2011, Gaumont co-produced and distributed The Intouchables, one of the highest-grossing foreign-language movies ever with over $450 million in revenue to date.
Gaumont Television was created in 2011, producing and distributing high-quality programming for the U.S. and international markets. With offices in Paris, London, and Los Angeles, key drama series include the award-winning Narcos and Hannibal, and the upcoming dramas The Frozen Dead, Crosshair, and Spy City, amongst many others. Gaumont Television is also one of today’s leading producers and distributors of children’s entertainment with a catalogue of over 30 kids’ television series and 800 half-hours of animation broadcast in over 130 countries.
